How to Preserve Avocado

This post contains affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Click here to read my disclosure policy.

When you’ve come across a great sale and stocked up on avocados, only to realize that you can’t eat them in time. What do you do? Preserve them! Here are five ways to make your avocados last!

You’ve won the culinary lottery! You’ve found perfectly ripened avocados, ON SALE!, but you know your luck is short-lived when they all become ripened at once, and you just can’t eat them all in time. And, because of their fat content (much like nuts), you can’t just throw them in a jar and stick them on a shelf!

How to Tell if an Avocado is Ripe

Look at the stem – pull off the stem bud if it’s not already gone. If the flesh underneath is still green or a very light brown, you’re good! If it’s a darker brown, put it back – it’s too ripe.

Give it a little pressure – there should be some give in the avocado, but not mush. If you want to purchase and allow them to ripen, get ones that are hard and set them out to ripen naturally.

Weight is heavy for size – Avocados that are light for their size are too far gone to purchase.

How to Store Avocados

Store on your counter – avocados are best stored on the countertop, especially when trying to ripen.

Store in a paper bag – if you’d like to hurry the ripening process a little, store your avocados in a brown paper bag

Store in the fridge – once your avocados have hit the ripened stage, it’s fine to store them in the fridge to slow down any ripening process. It won’t stop, but it will slow it down and give you an extra day or two.

How to Preserve Avocados

The basis of all preserving of avocado is to stop the oxygenation of the surface layer of the fruit. Thus, an acid is needed, usually in the form of lemon or lime (my preferred way), a citrus enhancer (Fruit Fresh) or even white vinegar.

Texture issue? Your mileage may vary for texture. I do not like eating frozen avocado that has been thawed on its own. It is smashed to add to something else. Whether on avocado toast, as guacamole, in a smoothie, etc.

One of the easiest, and most common, methods is to freeze avocados. I grew up believing you couldn’t freeze avocados, but you can! Let’s walk through the steps…

Alternatively, you can cut in half, sprinkle with juice, and wrap in plastic wrap to freeze.

Vacuum Sealed Avocado Halves

Cut the avocado in half

Discard the pit

Sprinkle with juice

Place in vacuum seal bag

Vacuum seal and label

You’ll see this vacuum sealing process was with avocados not in their skin. They did get squished in the process, but that’s okay!

Diced

I prefer to do this with avocados that are not quite to the soft phase. The diced cubes hold up better for me. But it also depends on the kind of avocado you are using, too. You can see in the photo that these were just a wee bit soft, and left smaller schmutz behind (is that a word?) But they froze just fine, didn’t they? I use a spatula to pry them up since I didn’t use a silicone sheet first. You could use parchment if you wanted, but it really isn’t necessary.

Cut the avocado in half.

Discard the pit

Slice the avocado pieces in thirds in both directions

Use a spoon to scoop onto a tray

Sprinkle liberally with juice

Flash freeze in your freezer

Bag and remove as much air as possible

Pickling

Pickled avocados may be an acquired taste for some, but it is a great process for preserving your fruit!

Freeze Drying

If you’ve got a freezer dryer, put that puppy to work and freeze dry those avocados.

Ways to use smashed avocado

End Results!

So, do you think you’ll try this now that you’ve seen avocados CAN be frozen to preserve them? And with the extra methods I gave you, there’s no reason why you should let your avocados just ripen to the point of being unusable if you can’t eat them quickly enough! Preserve them!!!!!!!!!!

Which is your favorite method to use – or which will you be excited to try?

Reader Interactions

Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Primary Sidebar

Search this website

I'm Darcy! I've spent the last twenty years learning how to stretch our budget to meet the needs of our growing family, all while making a home be a space more than just a place to sleep and eat. I believe in having a purpose in all aspects of our lives - including the pantry and our home. Let me show you how to create a pantry and home that has greater purpose... Read More…

Footer

Disclosures

You’re welcome and encouraged to link to ThePurposefulPantry.com, or use a single image with a brief description to link back to any post. Republishing posts in their entirety is prohibited. Feel free to pin on Pinterest!